Follow @SMaloughney Normally I would format my blogs by mentioning a few quips and details about the game or potentially bring up something about the prior games played. Due to the fact that most of the things I want to mention have to do with the lineup I’m going to put that first. LINEUPS
OILERS
RNH-McDavid-Caggiula Rieder-Draisaitl-Chiasson Lucic-Strome-Puljujarvi Khaira-Brodziak-Kassian
Klefbom-Larsson Nurse-Russell Garrison-Benning
Koskinen
BLACKHAWKS Debrincat-Toews-Kahun Saad-Anisimov-Kane Fortin-Johnson-Schmaltz Kampf-Kruger-Hayden
Keith-Jokiharju Gustafsson-Seabrook Manning-Davidson
Ward
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Sitting for Edmonton tonight is Yamamoto, Marody, Rattie who is close to returning, and Evan Bouchard. The Oilers currently have a log jam of scratched players and while some might try to suggest this is evidence of the depth the Oilers are gaining it doesn’t mean much if they aren’t actually playing.
Jesse Puljujarvi was scratched for four games, Marody hasn’t played in the last 5 games, and Evan Bouchard has not played a game since he scored a goal against the Washington Capitals on October 25th.
The Bakersfield Condors have played 3 games since October the 20th with one of those games being last night. An argument can be made that it was better to keep some of these players practicing with NHL players but with the Condors schedule picking up again that can no longer be the case. Yamamoto, Puljujarvi, Rattie, Marody, and Bouchard. The Oilers need to decide now who belongs in the NHL and who should be sent down. With the exception of maybe Marody it makes no sense to keep any of these players as a 13th forward or 7th defenceman who will sit as often as they will play.
As for who will stay and who will go that is anyone’s guess. Todd McLellan and I clearly have different understandings on what it means to be accountable.
Jason Garrison played a poor game against the Wild, he was directly responsible for the first two goals scored and once again showed he does not have the legs to keep up in the NHL anymore. Instead of sitting the veteran for a game to give him a chance to catch his breath and get Bouchard back in the lineup he will once again play tonight. Evan Bouchard has played 7 games this season, Edmonton can play him two more games without burning a year of his ELC yet they seem to be hesitant in doing so.
Drake Caggiula took a dumb penalty in the third period which led to the Wild’s game winning goal. He was also a part of the penalty kills which proved to be grossly ineffective. As a result, McLellan decided to sit Caggiula for a couple shifts to get him to refocus...I’m just kidding, he put Caggiula on the top line with Connor McDavid.
Caggiula is not a strong player He has done some effective things this year particularly on the third line but he is not a player you want anywhere near your top offensive players. Throughout his career Caggiula has had a negative effect his linemates CF%.
For those of you who groan anytime the word Corsi is mentioned let me offer you a challenge.
Watch Caggiula on the top line tonight. Does he have possession of the puck? Is he able to consistently pass the puck to his linemates? Are his linemates able to produce shots while he is on the ice? Yes Caggiula might skate really fast and get into the corners to battle for a puck but after that battle is over what has happened and has Caggiula had a positive effect on the play?
Edmonton has won games this season through some solid team play and of course Connor McDavid. This team is performing better than I expected but they desperately need help on the wing in the form of a proven NHLer.
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4 KEYS TO VICTORY 1) Puljujarvi Gets The Same Win Conditions. Puljujarvi returns to the lineup and will play with Lucic and Strome. Considering Lucic hasn’t scored since the first game of the season and Strome has yet to register a point, production cannot be the measure of success for Puljujarvi tonight. Puljujarvi should be counted on for strong 5 on 5 play and help keep the puck in the offensive zone. 2) Koskinen Starts. In a bit of a surprising move the Oilers elect to put Mikko Koskinen back in net. Over the past couple of seasons McLellan refused to play his backups unless he absolutely had no other choice. Koskinen should will be looking to build off of the solid game he played last week against the Predators. 3) Who Scores First? Two players of note have yet to register a goal; Ryan Strome and Tobias Rieder. Strome has played an effective two way game and Rieder has found chemistry with Draisaitl and has some assists. Both players are expected to pot some goals as well. 4) Maybe Don’t Take Penalties? Last time the Oilers faced off against the Blackhawks they got off to a rough start due to a slew of penalties. Against the Wild, Edmonton must have felt bad about their poor powerplay and decided to do the Central team a favour by boosting their stats. The Oilers have done well at 5 on 5 but they need to bunker down on the special teams front.
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OILERS SECRET WEAPONS Tobias Rieder - With 14 games played against the Blackhawks, the Oilers winger has accumulated 7 points (2G. 5A) which is the second most points he has produced against a team. Rieder seems to enjoy playing against the Hawks and tonight is as good a night as any to score his first goal of the season.
Jesse Puljujarvi - One of the three powerplay goals Jesse has scored in his career have come against the Blackhawks. In 3 games Jesse is 1-2-3 against Chicago. This is as good a game as any for him to get his mojo back.
BLACKHAWKS SECRET WEAPONS Marcus Kruger - Kruger is not seen as an offensive threat by...well really any NHL team but in the 20 games he has played against the Oilers he has 8 points (2-6-8) which is the third most points he has against any other team.
Brandon Saad - Saad is another Hawk who loves to play against Edmonton. Saad produces at almost a ppg (17GP, 4-10-14) with all of his goals coming at even strength
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FILM OF THE DAY Today we are discussing shuffling lineups so I'm going to go with a casino based movie today. Specifically the aptly named movie 21. Here is a non casino scene from the movie centred around the old Monty Hall question. Enjoy.